How to Make a Friendby Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger 24 Mar 2008 06:58 PM Yesterday we looked at how easily we can fall into laziness maintaining friendships. This prompted me to think more about friends. What makes people connect and move from acquaintances to become friends? You might want to answer this question in the forum. The biggest difference we have found since coming to our current church, is we have made not acquaintances but friends, friends we will one day share eternity with. So how can you make friends not acquaintances? Some ideas I came up with are: Taking time to listen Too often people don't listen but are waiting to get their say in the conversation almost before a pause has occurred. The prominence of talk back radio, I believe, is a direct result of people finding they have no-one to talk to who'll listen to them. If this is true, it's a sad comment on our society. Look interested Look at the person talking. Look them in the eye. Have you ever been with someone and as you're talking their eyes are darting around the, looking to see if there is anyone more interesting to talk to. It's unsettling. Communication Talk to each other and not just about superficial things but deeper issues. Laughter When I am with my closest friends, we spend a lot of time laughing. We don't have to be doing anything special just 'hanging out' and enjoying each other's company is enough. Common interests Common interests are good but not essential. Some of my best friends are gardeners and into creative crafts, neither of which I have any skills or great interest in. Does it matter? Not a bit. Because we a share other things in common, such as our Christian faith, a love of music, reading etc. I've found my closest friends are those I've been in bible study with, currently or in the past. They listen to my joys and problems and I listen to theirs and support them in prayer. It's reciprocal. Don't forget to join me for part 2 of looking at what turns and an acquaintance into a friend. Please visit these related blogs Learn more about Dale Harcombe  Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults. Relevantchristian tags User Comments knapdale (20) 31 Mar 2008 09:23 PMThis is something I struggle with Dale, turning "acquaintances" into "friends". I look forward to the second in this series. I also struggle to open up to them, as so often I find my words, "secrets" come back via another person. I do agree about friendships developed in bible study groups. They seem to develop into deep relationships; is this what God wants fromus???  Dale Harcombe (10373) 31 Mar 2008 11:07 PMI do believe it is what God wants for us. However, you make good points about the difficulty of opening up to others especially when 'secrets' come back to us from another person. We need to ensure that things raised in bible study and prayer groups remain confidential. Have a look at my latest blog http://christian.families.com/blog/how-gods-word-convicts to see how God dealt with me on this. Community Tags common interests, friendship. relationships, listening, making friends Discuss this article
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